House passes resolution for soldiers

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the three Israeli soldiers being held captive by Hamas and Hezbollah.The resolution by Rep. Gary Ackerman (D-N.Y.) passed Tuesday in a voice vote referred to Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, who were abducted by Hezbollah in a July 12 raid, and Gilad Shalit, who was kidnapped by Palestinian gunmen on June 25. Red Cross medics and international mediators have been denied access to the soldiers, and no concrete evidence has been offered as to their well-being.”We cannot compel such parties to release Gilad, Ehud and Eldad any more than we can force them to understand the difference between right and wrong,” said Ackerman, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia. “You cannot disgrace someone incapable of shame. But we… can let the perpetrators of this barbarism know that we have not forgotten what they have done and what they are continuing to do. We can bear witness. And we can add our voices to all those saying enough. Enough. Let these men go home.”